Shoes and what to expect for the Adirondacks??

GARCIA ONLY Bear canisters are MANDATORY in the EASTERN section of the High Peaks region. Terrain is rocky, rooty, wet and rugged. If you plan to climb any of the 46ers, you will be using trails that are essentially creek beds. I used Montrail Torre GTX (Gore-Tex)Boots, and my feet stayed dry and happy. If your going to do a lot of climbing up on the peaks, then I recommend slighter heavier boots. Water was plentiful, when we were here last September.

I would guess you'd have fewer bugs in mid to late August and possibly decent weather. It rained almost everyday on our trip, in Sept. We didn't have very good viewing from atop the peaks either, because of the poor weather conditions.
I want to go again, and would even do over the same trip, but I would not climb the same peaks over again, unless the weather was clear. (Mt. Haystack,Marcy,Algonquin)

Oh yeah, go mid-week, that's also why we went in mid-September=less crowds

There will be HOARDS of people on the weekends.

Pic's;

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578747939dTuvPT?vhost=outdoors

We are doing the Haystack and Marcy Peaks as well. Monday-Friday Trip. My shoes are:
Asolo Fugitives, Garmont Eclipse III GTX and Non-GTX Salomon Wing Tips Trail Runners.

I made the move to low tops and trail runners because of the sweat that would build up in my GTX Boots and turned my feet into pasty white prunes; painful.

Experiences?

Weather: Generally, warm and dry. Often rain at night as it cools or heavy dew/fog in the morning. Temps in 50's at night, in the 80's during the day. Tropical wather patterns, usually…sometimes rain in late afternoon (1600-1700EDT) possible. Storms are usually fast and violent, maybe more than one.

Terrain/Trail Conditions: Generally good for the first 10mi, moderate to poor further in. Mostly the mountain trails are badly eroded. Boulders, bedrock and many streams and mud holes. A lot have been bridged recently, but these are also breaking down with blowdowns and erosion.

Boots or Tails Runners: Depends. For 5 days, I would take my boots. The rocks, boulders and scrub will take it's toll on your ankles. I have used runners for a day or two. I was glad it wasn't longer. The twisting and turning of your feet can raise heck with your ankles. Tired ankles can lead to sprains. Boots protect your ankles a bit better, not that they protect aganst sprains… But, that means you can take a good footing, that would rub your ankle a bit, with no problem. This saves your ankle strength to avoid any sprains. The light pack helps a lot, too.

Bugs: Generally, not a problem. But, you can count on them in the valleys and camp areas. You need a screened in sleep area, avoid shelters. A full bottle of DEET will be enough.

In the Eastern High Peaks area you are required to have a bear canister. The Bear Vault is OK. I use the SOLO. And I modify it with a screw through the oposite side.

There are NO FIRES allowed in the Eastern High Peaks, either. Smudges and smoke will not help with bugs.

I usually carry my old SVEA up there. A 16oz bottle lets me use this twice a day, freely. I don't stop for lunch, rather, elect to eat jerkey, candy, and a lunch bar on the trail. Plan on 15mi per day, 20 if you are really good.

Hope this helps!

James-

Are Bear Vaults allowed in the Eastern region of ADK? Thought I read that they weren't; a bear figured out how to open them. I like Bear Vaults. Seem to be the lightest.

Bear Vaults are allowed, but highly discouraged. Most people will say they are not allowed, but this just ain't so. The law only requires a hard bear container, it does NOT say which type. From the last report, Avalanch Pass, Marcy Dam, down to the Beaver lean-to was where the notorious Yellow-Yellow hangs out. To date, she is the only bear in the country that knows how to regularly open the Bear Vaults, successfully. The screw WILL defeat her. (I talked to two rangers up there, both said it was fine.) Anyway, they are reluctant to outlaw something that was on shakey ground to begin with. Soo, they don't complain too loud. Nobody wanted the canister rule up there. They insisted and had it put in place. They would get slammed badly if they outlawed something that meets their law, AND, for only one bear, AND, favours one company over another. It is, politically, not the "correct" thing to do.

The BV's are OK with the addition of a hot screw, threaded and/or melted into the other side of the catch. This sort'a does away with the toolless opening of a bear vault. But other than paying a couple hundred dollars more, this is the lightest option. I think the Bearikade is a bit lighter and larger…and more expensive.

Of the two most commonly debated canisters:
The Garcia is requires a tool to open it. It is ~2#11 and ~650ci. It costs about 79 dollars at the local store.
The Bear Vault Solo is ~400ci and requires a tool to open it. It is 2#2. It costs about 59 dollars at the local store. BTW, they quit selling them in Lake Placid.
The Bearikade Weekender is ~650ci and requires a tool to open it. it weighs about 1#15 and sells for 225 dollars + shipping.

I find that for 5 days the BV is large enough. I use high density foods, though, at about 1.5# per day. Carrying the first days food out of it leaves a bit more room, too. And it packs, just, into my GG Miniposa. So for 19# pack weight, I am good to go (including 40oz water, food and fuel.) I head up there once or twice per year and have been for the past 15-20 years. I can get 7 days of food in it if I pack it real carefull.

If you need more food, the Garcia is a better option. Then, you will need a larger pack, say the Mariposa+. So your pack weight will be about 14#. I'm not sure if you are including food, soo assuming another 10# for food, it could be as much as 25#. This is more than I care to carry up there, but, I am old and feeble. I start stripping stuff down to stick below 20#. The trails are generally too poor up there to handle any weight. It gets REALLY crowded on weekends. I wait till school starts or before school ends, mostly. Other times, I just hike 10-15miles deep, as fast as possible.

Edit: My numbers were off a bit….sorry.

I've hiked for 30 years in the Adirondacks, including the High Peaks, and they are my favorite place to hike. You may note my avatar is a picture from the Marcy Dam.

As was noted earlier, you will find the trails are usually wet and always rocky, littered with roots and straight up the mountain. In August, however, you have your best shot at hiking in fairly normal trail conditions.

I used to wear goretex boots and still have a pair of lightweight Salomons. Some years ago, I switched to trail runners because I lost a degree of control on the rocks with boots. I found that my stability was significantly improved, particularly on the descent, with low-cut footwear. Others will argue that their higher-topped boots prevent injuries. You can decide for yourself.

I prefer non-goretex trail runners because they will be much cooler if you are blessed with gorgeous weather. You can encounter 95-degrees days in August there. Many of the deeply-muddy trails will be dried so you won't need goretex for that. I've logged many miles in the Adirondacks and found that however careful I was my feet somehow got wet. Now I use the INOV-8 lines and am very happy with them.

You may want to poke around the ADK High Peaks forum as it will provide you with the best information available out there about hiking in the High Peaks:

http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/

Good luck with your upcoming hike.

I've been hiking on and off in the Adirondacks for 40 years, including winter ascents of Mt. Marcy and other peaks.

In the milder seasons I always wear low-cut light hikers, no GoreTex liners so they dry out quickly. I've never carried bear spray. I rent bear canisters at Adirondack Loj or at The Mountaineer in Keene Valley. It can get cool at night, and it can be rainy, but usually it's quite pleasant. It can get cold and windy near the summits, though.

Elliott….40 years, wow, that's fantastic. I've got some catching up to do! I've never done any winter hiking there but love hiking the other three seasons.

The Mountaineer is an excellent specialty-purpose, outdoor-gear store that carries quality lines. If Mark was planning on renting a canister from them in August he may want to call months in advance and inquire whether he needs to reserve one.

I think we both agree that non-goretex shoes are the way to go in August.

I've been going to the Dacks for a long time (20 years?), and still do all of my "shakedown" hikes there.

When it rains heavily the trails turn into little rivers that you can't avoid walking through. Years ago ( when I still wore boots), a very wet weekend forced me to stop and pour a cup of water out of each boot every half hour. I haven't worn boots there in years… with much better results. All of the advantages of runners vs boots apply. People use runners in Alaska, and the Dacks are tame in comparison. I would recommend something with a good sticky sole for the slabs though.

Don't forget that there are shelters every few miles. Generally there's not much to stress about, except those sneaky bears. Protect your food.

You'll see some MONSTER packs!

I was hoping to use my Salomons. I have yet used them in very very wet and muddy conditions but if August usually means drier trail conditions then I will probably go with them.

Probably load up on socks (I'm a sock freak).

Mark,

You might consider Five Ten Canyoneer2 shoes. I plan to wear a pair of them on the WCT this coming summer. The high friction rubber soles are excellent on slippery surfaces, and they drain extremely well.

http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/69-canyoneer

I've been testing mine in wet streams and on very wet/muddy trails (in conditions where my feet have stayed wet throughout the hikes). I've tried a number of different types of socks with them, and the best combination I've found for those conditions is Wrightsock, Coolmesh socks as a sock liner (extremely light weight, double layer socks) and Seirus Hyperlite Stormsocks as my main socks (to help keep my feet from freezing). The company's website write-up says the Stormsocks are waterproof, but they definitely are not. They are more of a very light neoprene sock, and they help to keep your feet from getting overly cold.

http://www.amazon.com/Wrightsock-Unisex-3-Pack-Coolmesh-Quarter/dp/B0020MKZ1A/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

http://www.rei.com/product/729120?preferredSku=7291200017&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-datafeed-_-product-_-7291200017&mr:trackingCode=9B88071B-81F9-DE11-BAE3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=

When I'm wearing the Canyoneer2 shoes in conditions where I won't be in water deeper than my ankles, I use a pair of Rocky Goretex socks. I've tried the Rocky socks with various liners, and they all worked fine. The Rocky socks are not easy to get onto my feet (they're somewhat difficult to get over the ankles), but the extra effort is worth it. They fit me extremely well, and they keep my feet nice and dry. They're a little pricey, but I like dry feet better than wet feet 100% of the time.

I bought mine at REI. They were listed for less money on the botachtactical.com website, but I read some unfavorable customer reviews about dealing with that company, and I've had excellent customer service from REI, so I spent a few more dollars and bought them at REI.

http://www.rei.com/product/688268

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=25586

Five Ten's high-friction-when-wet-rubber and excellent drainability are also featured on their (all size 11.5) Runamucks @ 28 oz, Savant @ 39 oz, versus 44.5 @ oz for the Canyoneers. I have used all three models for backpacking / packrafting but have now settled on the Runamucks for all my long trips. A small tube of McNett Seam Seal should be carried for long trips with either the Savants or Runamucks. Both of these models use nylon mesh along the sides. I normally get about 3 – 4 weeks of wilderness use before I have a new patch spot (1/8 dab is the normal fix) on the mesh sides. By contrast, the Canyoneers are bullet proof but, the classic 5x energy expenditure of footwear versus pack loads makes them fatiguing to wear.

Richard,

The other Five Ten shoes you mentioned are ones I also considered, and they would make great choices, based on personal preference. I chose the Canyoneer2 model for the bomber buckles, rugged construction and (most important for me) the ankle support they provide.

…would be very helpful. I've had several models of 5-10 over the years and would recommend them. I also like INOV-8 which has several models with a sticky bottom. They're my shoe of choice lately.

Just wear whatever fits well with a sticky bottom and you'll have a great time.